can't i have a betta with a goldfish in the same tank at the same time?

Question

My sis had a betta in raw tap water probably cold water so can't you put a coldfish in it 2 ? and i want 2 fishes that don't take up much room(like the betta) but don't want the water to get heated (besides thinkin about all the little requirements for 2 makes me wanna puke or something)

Answer 1

i wouldn't put the two together because they are used to a different water habitat:

Goldfish (Cyprinus auratus):
10-20 °C/50-68 °C

Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens):
26-30 °C/79-86 °F

my question therefore is: is your sister's betta still alive or already freezing? get a heater ;)

P.S.: for the ones that wrote about 'poop' and ammonia:

before buying fish, an aquarium should be running for at least 3 weeks. with 'running' i mean that the sand, plants, roots and so on are inside, the heater, filter and lights are on. make sure that you get information regarding water temperature of the fish you want to buy and adjust the heater to that temperature. also make sure to have more than enough plants in the beginning in order that they 'win the fight' against algae. in order not to have much algae you should have the lights 12 hours on and 12 hours off. in my AQ i adjusted the lighting like this: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. 3.p.m.-11 p.m. rest of the time the lights are off. after the second day, you should put a food tablet or any other food inside. the protein in the food will get rotten and produce ammonium. after a week or so the first bacteria (nitrosomonas) should come up in your AQ to transform ammonium to nitrite (NO2). after a certain amount of nitrosomas, the second species of bacteria (nitrobacter)comes up to transform the nitrite into nitrate (NO3). this transformation is called nitrite-peak, because the lethal nitrite (at least for the fish) starts to decline as soon as nitrobacter show up. make sure to buy water tests at your pet shop to test your water. as soon as there is no NO2 in your AQ anymore, you may start putting fish inside, but not all of them at once. if you plan to have let's say 30 fish, buy the 'housemaids' first, like otocinclus affinis, any corydoras type or ancistrus type (15 fish max.) - don't forget to check water quality as you might have another NO2-peak again when putting the first fish inside. after a week or so, put in the remaining fish.

in case of any questions, feel free to contact me!

Answer 2

First of all - why do you want fish if the requirements bother you??

Second -

Some people are able to house a goldfish and Betta together and it works out fine. But most often it doesn't work out. Often goldfish will eat the tails of the Betta's because they are colorful. Goldfish are kind of dumb fish. They enjoy eating.

But it's a risk when you mix any fish with a Betta.

Goldfish are also ALOT dirtier then a Betta, so if you get a goldfish expect to clean the bowl/tank out much much more often (possibly once a week).

If you want to mix another fish with a Betta I only recommend these fish:

A.) African Drawf frog (basically a 'fish' that looks like a frog) He will even eat the same food as your Betta more then likely. He can survive in cold water. These mix well with Betta's much more often then other fish it seems.

B.) Guppies - It's still a chance the Betta or Guppy will fight, but it much less it seems then a GF. They are small, and can live in cold water.

Two more pointers:

1.) I don't recommend using just 'raw tap water' with any fish. Betta's are a lot stronger then most fish, but all others are very sensitive to the Chlorine in the water. What you can do is buy some chlorinate at a fish store for about $3 and add it to the tap water or you can use bottled water. Personally using the dechlorinator is cheaper and less of a hassle. Even if you just keep the Betta alone, I still recommend this, because even tho he hasn't died yet or your sisters hasn't doesn't mean one day he won't become too stressed from the chlorine.

2.) Don't change all the water when you clean the tank/bowl. I usually have an empty bowl or cup or whatnot and I fill it up with half the water from the bowl and I put the fish in there while I clean their bowl out with hot water. Then I add 1/2 new water with the dechlorinator and then I add the old water and the fish back into the bowl. Again Betta's are much stronger then most fish, but you gambling when you change all the water or do not dechlorinate the water.

Answer 3

The pet store told me goldfish and guppies do well. I've had goldfish for a while and just yesterday went after guppies but there was a miss hap and I also wanted a catfish as well and the girl sold me the wrong kind and it managed to eat a guppy but I have that under control now. O if you want a cat of some sort in cold water you can get a Cory cat that's what people recommended on one of my questions and today the owner of the pet store apologized and he also recommended a Cory catfish. Guppies and goldfish and even catfish are very hardy if you think about it they are used to living outside in ponds and lakes without any chemicals and the water can get pretty cold.
you do need to do water changes though to help maintain the water and also I was given some kind of treatment for the water to cut down on the bad stuff don't know the name and I'm to lazy to walk through the house to find out. Also goldfish if you can keep them alive can get big. Right now I have a 20 gallon with 2 goldfish 4 guppy and 1 Cory cat and because of the gold fish that is all I can safely put in there to insure there is enough swim room and oxygen and stuff.
O plain tap water if it has chlorine will kill fish right off the bat so you wil need to treat it or I actually used spring water with my first goldfish and I've had him for a month now and he is getting big (he's 1 of my 2 goldfish)

Answer 4

You can- although its not recommended. I've done it before, but the thing is, the goldfish will often start eating the betta's tail. Also goldfish are messy, and if the water isn't changed often enough, it could poison your Betta

Also, every fish needs one gallon per inch of fish- So you need at least a gallon fish bowl, preferably two or three. I always kept my Betta in a two gallon glass fish bowl, and each one lived for 2-3 years (No goldfish). The smaller the bowl, the shorter the fish will live.

Answer 5

Just stick a jewel cichlid or a black convict in there with em and watch em fight it out. The winner gets the tank!! Beats a stinky old goldfish that poops everywhere, or you could put a an oscar in there and watch him eat the beta. Sounds to me like your not a fish type person anyways so why bother?? Fish take time to care for, and have to have their water changed regularly. Also they have to have a big enough environment to live. General rule of thumb is for every inch of fish you should have 1 gallon of water. At least I think that is what it is. Who cares anyways as for the statement you made in the end shows that you really don't need fish to begin with.

Answer 6

Goldfish need at least 10 gallons of water per fish. They are big dirty and delicate. They are not good beginner fish.

If you have a tank- then you can put other things in the FILTERED AQUARIUM. Cory cats, zebra danios, dwarf frogs, ghost shrimp. These are all good tankmates for a betta.

Do not get a goldfish. They are more work then it sounds like you are willing to put into them.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, you can't put a betta with a goldfish.

The betta is a tropical fish and needs to go with other tropical fish. I wanted to put mine in with my gold fish and the guy at the pet store said absolutely not.

My brother did however put his betta in with his angel fish and they seem to be doing fine.

Your best bet is to go to your local pet store. Tell them what you want, and they'll tell you which fish can live nicely and happily in the same tank as your betta.

Answer 8

I tend to agree with iamkaymie. Another reason it isn't a good idea to put them together is that their ideal water temperatures vary. Betta are tropical fish and gold fish are not. .

Answer 9

You can have one beta in the tank with them but I would not recommend it. Goldfish are very dirty fish and produce ammonia in the water which could ultimately kill your other fish. I would recommend keeping them sepeterate Unless you plan on checking the different water levels in your tanks frequently.

Answer 10

The Beta Fish is an aggressive fighting fish. They prefer to be left alone. Get two gold fish. At least they wont kill each other. I saw a Beta kill a tetra fish and they are pretty aggressive too.